More Z motor error

[Gean]

I bought a refurbished Sears model carvewright yesterday (REALLY CHEAP). It has about 20 hours on it. The owner was short on patience as it was giving him the Z motor 313 message. I read all the threads here before buying it so I would be prepared to test it.

Well, I've done all the tests and "fixes" but to no avail. He had put on a new Z motor so I'm pretty sure it's okay. Cleaned the board sensor....reading of 156 with a mirror under it. Changes when I shine a light on the mirror. Smooth motion both horizontally and vertically. Bearings turn easily. Unplugged and replugged all wires. Looked and smelled under the bottom panel...seems okay there.

Ribbon cable ends just slide into the holders? Ones on my original CW look like they're glued (planned on trading them to see if that was the problem). Suggestions as to more tests and/or parts to order and change out?

[cnsranch]

Here's a comment from Al a couple of days ago:

YOU may have a FFC Cable problem..... Is the cable loose? The plug on the Z Motor could be loose or plugged in backwards. Something bound in the bearing rails... I had a frozen lower left bearing give me the very same error.... Sawdust gets flung at that bearing and gets inside the bearing. Mark it with a marker and move the truck up and down. Does the roller roll or slide..... frozen.....

Good Luck,

AL

Could be your cables.........

[Digitalwoodshop]

If it is a very old machine and the hint was the glue on the cables.... I would remove the thick ribbon cable driving the Z Truck called the FFC Cable... Count the pins.... If 18 pins then you may have the old Z and old cable. A better is the new Z Bundle with the heavier wires of the 14 pin FFC cable. And if you have the 14 pin FFC cable.... That was the fix on the last broken unit I bought cheap, a bad 14 pin cable..

Then there is a possible blown driver in the Computer....

AL

[Gean]

Well, I counted the pins....14. My running CW also has 14 and it's the one that looks like the cable is glued in. Guess I will order a new cable as I also need to order a new door switch and brushes for the running CW. Will keep you all posted as to my progress.

Thanks,

Gean

[Gean]

oh, oh...this can't be good. I was tinkering around with the "new" machine this evening. I didn't realize I had it turned on. I pulled the 14 pin cable. checked all 14 wires with my meter (all registered good) and then as I was reinserting it, the truck jerked a short distance away from the keypad side then back to the keypad side and stopped. Before, the screen worked and could check all the sensors, choose a project, etc....now nothing appears! Still have resistance when I try to move the truck in the y direction so I know it's getting power. What a mess!! May have to box it up and ship it in for repairs. Sigh!!

Gean

[Digitalwoodshop]

WOW.... Bummer...... Reminds me of Childhood..... When in 6th Grade I had a broken Homework Table Lamp.... A Friend bought me a new Lamp Socket and showed me how to fix it.... We did it together... My Dad had kicked the bucket a few years earlier.

SO I fix the lamp and I am very happy to have a working desk lamp..... It is the design like a sideways tin can with stand....

Well a few weeks later I was board while doing the homework and started to fiddle with the lamp.... Decided to open the socket and see if the wires were still tight.... I had my Pocket Knife.... I slid the socket out of the Brass Holder and there were the screws.... Just for the fun of it... I touched both screws at the same time.... with 2 fingers..... Well, you know what happened.... AL discovered "ELECTRICITY"..... I shocked the Smile right off my FACE..... I had forgotten to unplug it in my excitement.... A Lesson I would remember to this day.....


SO back to the FFC Cable and Power ON..... Well I replaced that FFC Cable once and failed to put that little black cap back on at the top that holds the cable UP..... Well it drooped and snagged under power and jerked it down and out.... But not before shorting out the Z Motor......

I was able to swap parts between my 4 machines to see what I had burned out.... It was only the Z Motor.... In your case it is possible that the Computer took a hit too.....

BUMMER....... That is the problem with swapping parts.....

Back in my Navy days troubleshooting Radars.... On the back of my last ship was 2 Missile Radars. They were Gyro Stabilized with a identical Gyro for Elevation and one for Bearing or Train. Gyro's were in short supply.... A common troubleshooting trick was to swap the Elevation one with the Train one... To move the problem to the other Axis...

The danger was the radar flailing around at high speed when you swapped it.... A Necessary Evil to Troubleshoot it..... The Powers to be would never give us permission to move the bad part to the good radar or the good part to the bad radar.... Breaking the 2nd GOOD radar was not an option.... Breaking the 1st bad radar MORE was a option....

This is the kind of stuff I fixed for the first 20 years.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartar_Guided_Missile_Fire_Control_System

Good Luck with this one.... Get stuck you can always call me... My number is on the bottom of my web page...

Almost 2 AM... Just finished Art Samples for a North Carolina Fire Dept.... a $1027.00 Future order....

AL

[Gean]

Great story Al. You might say that "juiced" you up for your future work! I've usually been better at disassembly than reassembly/repair. Don't know why I thought I could fix this "new" machine of mine. Going to contact CW this day, then get it packed up ready for the UPSy lady tomorrow. Really enjoy you and Ike and everyone's input/stories on the forum. Have made several of MT's projects (ready to put the stain on the Book Box now). Hope to eventually be able to contribute more here.

P.S. Congrats on the big order......real shot in the arm for your finances I bet!!!

Gean

[SAA3840]

I don't know if it will be of any help, now that you may have fried something, but I too was getting a bunch of Z-truck 313 errors. What I found was that when the machine was measuring the newly installed bit, the machine would give the chuck a spin and then head for the keyboard side. Well the Z-truck would drop down for its measurement but the bit would still be spinning. Consequently the little lever that the machine uses got a divot drilled in it. That's when the error messages started. I don't know what the lever is called but it's associated with the brass roller.
I fixed the problem by putting a drop of epoxy in the divot. Worked fine for a while til the machine drilled a hole in the epoxy. What I do now is open the lid as soon as the machine puts its spin on the chuck. Then I close the lid, press the go button and all is good. The machine does not re-spin the chuck.
Hope this helps someone.

[Gean]

Thanks for the heads up Mike. This "new" machine never gets that far. I've shipped it to LHR for them to analyze and repair. I DID check my other machine and the "crosshairs" have a small mark on them but not clear through. Will keep an eye on that situation.

Am in the finish sanding stage of the Book Box project. Taking my time so I can get a good "do" on it. Have a co-worker that may order a personalized one for his wife.

Gean